Webcasts

Upcoming Webcasts

As with the equipment installations required by the recent ballast water convention regulations, investments in scrubbers or LNG-fueled vessels could have a significant impact on vessel capacity if shipowners choose to scrap early instead of make costly purchases.

This webinar will look at the effects on the bulker, tanker and containership markets as shipowners weigh their compliance strategies to meet IMO’s 2020 sulphur cap.

Autonomous ships are considered by some to be the next revolution in the industry. Shipping companies such as MOL have launched research programmes to speed the introduction of autonomous ships, but one of the biggest obstacles will be promulgating regulations that will make autonomous ships safe.

This webinar will consider the implications of autonomous ships on shipowner costs and safety, and what it will take for ships built equipped for autonomous navigation to become a reality.

It will also look at the infrastructure needed to support an autonomous shipping regime, and hurdles involving seafarer safety and the costs to build and maintain autonomous ships.

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships was adopted on 15 May 2009 and will enter into force 24 months after ratification by 15 States, representing 40 per cent of world merchant shipping by gross tonnage.

However, in anticipation of the IMO scheme coming into force - currently only five nations have ratified the convention - the EU Ship Recycling Regulation was adopted in 2013 and it requires that all vessels sailing under EU flags to be recycled at EU-approved facilities from 1 January 2019. As part of this regulatory push, in December 2016, Brussels published an initial list of approved recycling facilities, all of which are located in the European Union but the bulk of the world’s shipbreaking takes place in Asia.

The reluctance of European regulators to approve non-EU facilities mostly centres on beaching but there are widely divergent views on this practice. This webinar will discuss this issue as well the necessary steps for encouraging safe and green vessel demolition.

Archived Webcasts

Diminishing ice in the Arctic will have significant consequences for commercial shipping that is relying increasingly heavily on the Northern Sea Route, and for the US economy which is considering ramping up drilling once again off the coast of Alaska.

This webinar will focus on how the IMO Polar Code, which went into force in January 2017, is addressing the increased risks shipowners are facing in the region, how the code is affecting fuel choices in the region, and how oil spill response will be deployed to address increased shipping traffic.

The webinar will also look at how a potential ban on heavy fuel oil could affect operational costs, as well as how navigation could be affected by international and regional regulations.

This will force shipping companies to monitor a variety of parameters and is likely to mark the first step towards actual performance management and should lay the foundation for an increase in the use of data analytics, leading to better predictions for optimal routes, fuel consumptions and the maintenance of machinery.

Shipowners are faced with the options of burning low-sulphur fuel, installing exhaust scrubbers, or switching to alternative fuels – namely LNG – in order to meet new low-sulphur fuel regulations that go into effect in 2020.

The 0.5% global sulfur cap on marine fuel seems virtually certain to take effect on January 1, 2020. While scrubber installations seem to have plateaued -- There are currently only about 350 ships with scrubbers installed or on order, according to IHS Markit -- LNG-powered vessels continues to grow, according to a fuel compliance report by IHS Markit/Maritime & Trade analyst Krispen Atkinson. Still some believe scrubbers will grow in popularity if as forecast there will be a significant premium for low-sulfur fuel over traditional bunkers.

This webinar will delve deeper into the topic and what it means for shipowner and operators’ compliance strategies as the 2020 date draws ever closer.

The maritime industry has no choice but to better understand and confront the nature of cyber risk. The June 2017 NotPetra cyber attack that ensnared Maersk Group, which the company said cost it $300 million, was a wake up call that make it abundantly clear that no company big or small is immune.

It reinforced that people and processes must be a key focus for any organisation determined to protect itself in the digital age. The 2017 maritime cyber survey, which was conducted in August, sought to explore what organisations are doing - or should be doing - to prepare their people and how they are amending their processes in an environment of escalating cyber threat.

It filtered respondents by job level to ascertain how views to this threat vary between top executives, managers and crew.

In this webinar, the findings of the survey will be discussed and leading industry stakeholders evaluating potential solutions.

On September 8th, the Ballast Water Management Convention will come into force, and shipowners have been granted extra time before they must comply.

In July, IMO member states at the 71st meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 71) agreed to effectively extend compliance with the D-2 standard of the convention (i.e installation of an IMO type-approved ballast water management system) by two years, depending on a particular vessel’s renewal survey.

The delay gives shipowners more time to assess costly equipment investments, but it also brings new challenges - such as whether and when to decouple their International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP) renewals with the rest of the vessel surveys.

Meanwhile, shipowners trading in the United States continue to seek compliance extensions from the US Coast Guard, which has become more strict in overseeing its own ballast water management regulation.

Fairplay Senior Regulations and Safety Editor John Gallagher will moderate a discussion with ballast water experts from the class, legal, and shipowner sectors to discuss the impact of the recent MEPC 71 decision and the ripples it is sending through the maritime industry. Ballast water system manufacturers will also be on hand to answer technical installation questions.

Topics to be covered include: - Updated shipowner strategies for complying with the Ballast Water Convention - Advice on how to extend compliance dates in the United States - Problems shipowners are experiencing with ballast water equipment performance and installation

With countdown to compliance less than three months away, this webinar will build on roundtable discussions hosted this year by Fairplay in London, Athens, Hamburg, Singapore and Seattle, around the cost of compliance for shipowners as they weigh ballast water equipment investment decisions. Join Fairplay Senior Regulations and Safety Editor John Gallagher for a discussion around two of the more popular ballast water cleaning technologies that have emerged over the past year in the USD30-60Bn ballast water management system market, and concerns raised during the limited amount of experience with these systems in commercial operations. The webinar will feature presentations by two ballast water equipment manufacturers that will expand the discussion by looking closer at the treatment technologies and how they work, as well as provide an opportunity to show how manufacturers are addressing operational concerns raised by shipowners.

In addition to looking ahead to the International Maritime Organization’s 8 September ballast water enforcement date, the webinar will also consider regulatory changes made at MEPC 71 – to be held 3-7 July - which could affect ballast water implementation schedules.

After an extended period of selling ships to raise cash and bolster balance sheets, publicly listed owners have now embarked on an aggressive buying spree, acquiring vessels en masse in the second-hand market. Near-record levels of equity issuances are being used to fund these purchases. Join Fairplay’s Senior Commerce Editor Greg Miller as he examines how and why public shipping companies have made their dramatic change in capital allocation, and how this plays out in terms of money raising on Wall Street. How long will the new strategy last and will second-hand vessel purchases be followed by newbuild orders? To what extent are public owners allocating cash for other purposes, such as dividends and buybacks? What does the new capital-allocation strategy mean for the future performance of shipping stocks?

In addition to examining the public owners’ switch from defence to offence, this webinar will also feature an update on how US-listed shipowners have fared in the second quarter of 2017, including the levels of proceeds from public and private equity and debt issuances and how those levels compare to previous periods.

Issues to be addressed will include:-The market rationale behind the shift in capital allocation and how it impacts equity and debt issuances-How vessel-purchasing strategy is impacted by access to commercial bank debt-Concerns that second-hand market activity will raise vessel pricing and spur newbuild orders

Who should attend?-Public and private shipowners-Investors in public shipping companies-Legal, financial and accounting professionals serving public companies

Listen to Fairplay’s Senior Commerce Editor Greg Miller as he looks at how shipping equities could fare in the wake of the inauguration of Donald Trump as the president of the United States. Will the volatility and volumes in shipping micro-caps seen in the immediate wake of Trump’s election resurface? Are the prospects for tanker stocks improved, given Trump’s push for more pipelines and potential tax reform that could favour US crude and refined products exports over imports? What do the escalating tensions between the Iran and the Trump administration mean for tanker stocks? And given that so much of shipping stock buying in general has been a proxy bet on China, how would a deepening political rift between China and the US play out for shipping shares?

In addition to examining the ‘Trump Effect’, this webinar will also feature an update on how US-listed shipowners have fared in the first quarter of 2017, including the levels of proceeds from public and private equity and debt issuances and how those levels compare to previous periods.

Issues to be addressed included:

How shipping stocks have performed since new US administration

How new US policies could translate into shipping demand

How Trump policies on trade, energy, sanctions and taxation could impact shipping stock

On 2 December 2016, the US Coast Guard approved a ballast water management system that will legally comply with US regulations for commercial ships trading in the United States – which represent an estimated 6% of global imports and exports - thereby immediately changing the game for shipowners who have been seeking more certainty as they plan capital expenditures.

Listen to IHS Fairplay’s safety and regulations editor John Gallagher and a panel of experts representing vessel operators, class societies, and the equipment makers themselves to discuss the latest thinking on how the news from the US, along with recent regulatory changes at the IMO, can be used by owners, operators, and charterers to help plan for these million-dollar investment decisions.

Join Fairplay’s Senior Commerce Editor Greg Miller as he looks at how public shipping markets have evolved and where they are going. In the future, will the public shipping field be comprised of consolidated, high market cap, highly liquid sector leaders, or will the industry move away from public listings and revert to its private roots? Will the industry re-attain the healthy access to public equity investors it enjoyed in 2002-7, or will its access remain constricted? These are very important questions for shipowners – whether they are public or private.

Our quarterly shipping finance webcast series will be hosted and led by Fairplay Senior Commerce Editor Greg Miller, a leading journalist with years of experience covering maritime finance, whose analysis of all aspects of the market is widely followed by leading industry players.

Each webcast will kick off with a review of year-to-date maritime finance activity and then move on to a deep-dive quarterly topic.

Implications of Hanjin Collapse for Retailers

Join our industry experts as they explain what the collapse of Hanjin Shipping means for theindustry in the short and long-term.

During the 30 minute webcast Szakonyi and Lee detail what the stranding of hundreds of thousands of containers on Hanjin ships means for European and US retailers preparing for the holiday season and peak season spot rates. Their highlighting of exclusive trans-Pacific market research will help shippers make more informed decisions ahead of the launch of new shipping alliances this spring.

An enduring risk: Trends in piracy around the world

Political and public interest in international piracy peaked between 2009 and 2012 as Somali pirates wrestled with the international naval community for control of the sea lines of communication passing through waters off the Horn of Africa. A confluence of pressures, including naval action at sea and ashore, wider international activities ashore, and (arguably) the presence of armed security at sea on some ships, brought a halt to the piracy issue off Somalia.

However, it was always unlikely that the piracy issue would go away completely; the piracy risk endures around the world, as there remains a need to address its causes as as well as its consequences. In modern times, the issue emerged in the Asia-Pacific region, and today it remains a problem there. Moreover, the Gulf of Guinea endures as a region of international concern.

The reasons why piracy exists and the forms in which it manifests itself differ from region to region around the world. With piracy remaining a concern for political leaders, armed forces, the commercial sector, international organizations, and analysts alike, this timely webinar will examine new developments, assess key themes, and consider potential solutions to the piracy problem. Specifically, IHS experts will cover:

• Piracy incidents and trends in the Asia-Pacific region• Piracy and wider maritime security challenges in the Gulf of Guinea• Trends and issues in the commercial shipping sector

Peak-Season Freight Outlook: Ocean and Intermodal

It’s becoming increasingly clear that, without a dramatic jump in demand and a decrease in capacity, container lines can expect to limp through the next couple of years with little chance of making a profit. The fundamentals are all wrong. Demand for global container shipping this year is expected to increase barely 1 percent, with capacity growing 6 percent. Not only is capacity outstripping demand, but the vessels entering the market are ever larger as carriers search for lower unit costs, even as they come under siege from record low freight rates. On the land side, intermodal rail is winning back market share from trucking as rail service that bombed out two years ago has recovered in a big way. Many analysts, however, attribute that to weak freight demand reflected in declining rates and FTR Associates’ expectations for a scant 0.2 percent uptick in North American intermodal volumes this year. Yet FTR expects peak-season volume to rally, leading to greater growth in 2017.

This live, 75-minute webcast will analyze the outlook for the summer-fall peak shipping seasons for the containerized shipping and intermodal rail markets.

A landmark referendum over the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union has ended in victory for those in favour of leaving the European Union but what does this mean for the shipping industry, both in the United Kingdom and further afield?

Join our live webinar on Thursday 30th June at 2pm (BST) as our experts discuss the implications.

Agenda:

Brexit – any benefits for shipping? Will it affect London’s status as a maritime centre?

Brexit – who are the maritime winners and losers?

Brexit – what next? What can shipping expect to change in the months to come? Further down the road?